Don't Hold Back
by Lady Chitose
Summary: Peach is tired of being underestimated by opponents. Samus tries to help with that. ::implied Samus x Peach::


Disclaimer: Brawl is not mine nor are its characters.

A/N: Cheesy, fluffy, sappy Samus/Peach because the fandom is severely lacking in shoujo-ai.

* * *

It wasn't fair. Not fair at all.

Peach interlocked her arms and stomped off to her room. The clacking of her heels caused ear-splitting echoes in the unoccupied halls. Retrieving the key from a hidden pocket in her dress, she rewound to the beginning of the day in her mind. It was like any other day. She rose from her bed, ate a bland meal with the other Smashers, entered a match or two, and had empty free time afterwards.

Funnily enough, she won almost every time. Yet the princess was terribly unhappy with this fact.

Why is this? Victories ought to be celebrated, right? Not in her opinion. In almost every match, excluding some select people, her opponent went easy on her. It seemed whoever she fought against her saw through her, only taking notice of her salmon pink dress, long golden locks, and the tiara sitting upon them. This was enough to convince the opponent that he didn't need to use too much energy in a match with Peach. While the opponent wouldn't announce that he was going easy on her, Peach knew very well he was based on how he would fight with others.

She sighed in aggravation. Apparently, a feminine princess can't be a strong fighter.

Shoving the key into the lock, Peach twisted the doorknob. She was greeted by the sight of Zelda tucked into bed, peacefully asleep, while Samus read a thick novel in the dim light of a lamp. Most rooms of the mansion had only two occupants, but Master Hand decided that only members of the same gender should share rooms. He also figured it would be unfair to let one of the women have her own room while the other two shared one, so a larger room was built to fit Samus, Zelda, and Peach. None of them seemed to mind. In fact, they all rather enjoyed the company of the other two.

Growling, Peach threw her tired body onto her bed. Her face sunk into her pillow. More growls arose, causing Samus to glance over at her roommate. This was a common thing Peach did when she was upset or frustrated. Although she still didn't have the best understanding of human emotion, having been raised by an entirely different race, she knew from past experiences that it was best to allow Peach to blow off some steam. She figure she'd be more open to talking in the morning. The light of the lamp died out after Samus put a bookmark in her book and went to sleep.

Peach rolled onto her side and glared at the wall for a rather long time. She hoped that with enough time she'd burn a hole in the wall with her gaze. No such luck. Somehow she had a feeling seeing an explosion of some sort would ease her frustration. Sneaking into Snake's room to steal a grenade crossed her mind, but then she remembered all the locks and chains on the door of his room. He liked his privacy, that was for sure. She went through many similar thoughts before her eyelids gave into slumber.

--

It was no surprise to Samus when Peach arrived late to breakfast that morning. What did shock her was the fact Peach looked as if she'd just rolled out of bed. Stray blond hairs protruded from her normally sleek head of hair. Her face was slightly flushed and her dress had numerous wrinkles, resulting from Peach falling asleep in it. Rubbing at her eyes, she took an empty seat at the table. She didn't feel like eating since she had no appetite, and she had no idea if the food on her plate was edible or not. Using a fork she viciously stabbed at the food.

Samus' eyebrows shot up at Peach's uncharacteristically violent behavior. Something was very wrong. She would get to the bottom of it once everyone went back to their rooms. Luckily only a few minutes passed before that moment arrived. Samus scanned the recreational area for the princess, but couldn't find her. She realized it was likely Peach had retreated to their room and scurried up the stairs.

Once she opened the door, the sight of Peach on her bed confirmed her prediction. She was curled up on her bed with a scowl.

"Peach?" Samus asked in a voice just barely loud enough for her to hear.

Peach sat up and drew her legs into her chest. "Hi Samus," she replied flatly. This was a stark contrast to her normally cheery greetings.

Samus sat beside her friend on her bed. "I noticed that you were upset last night. Wanna tell me what's the matter?" She wasn't entirely comfortable with discussions about feelings with anyone, but she could manage to listen and console the other person.

The blonde bit her lip and glanced at the ground as if she were thinking. She knew very well how she was feeling, but putting her feelings into words seemed hard. Finally she shyly looked at Samus over her shoulder. "Why does everyone underestimate me?" she questioned in a melancholy tone.

Samus blinked; she was at a loss for words. There were some reasons that popped into her head but she refrained from saying them to avoid sounding insensitive.

"Is it because I'm blonde?" Peach wondered aloud. "But you and Link are blonde and you two are treated with respect. Do I come off as a ditzy valley girl?" She frowned. "Because I'm not one at all, I wish people could see that..." Water formed her eyes as if she was about to burst into tears.

Samus inched towards Peach and put her hand on the white-gloved one. "Zelda and I see that. Same goes for Mario, Luigi, and some other smashers, I'm sure. Some of them just don't know you as well as we do."

"Then why does almost everyone go easy on me in a battle?!" Peach asked, her voice growing in volume. "It's like they see my crown and my dress and think I can't fight. I do, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I just want people to treat me like everyone else and give me their all. A victory feels empty if the opponent didn't fight to his or her full potential." She exhaled after speaking. It seemed that she said all of that in one breath.

Peach's maturity impressed Samus. She partly wished everyone in the mansion could have heard that. Certainly they wouldn't go easy on her any more after that. Despite not being one for physical affection, Samus moved every closer to the other woman and threw an arm over her shoulders. With the other hand Samus reached up to Peach's chin and moved her head so they made eye contact. "Listen," she began. "Next time we battle, I promise you, I'll play fair and square. No holding back. You give your all, I'll give mine. It won't be about wins or losses, just about a good match." The bounty hunter bore a rare smile and offered a hand. "Deal?"

Peach returned the smile and shook Samus' hand, accepting her offer. "Deal."

--

Perhaps it was purely coincidental. Maybe it was fate. In any case, Samus and Peach just happened to have a solo match against each other later that afternoon. Both reported to the Smashville stage at the same time. During the countdown to the fight, Peach eyed her opponent and mouthed, "Don't hold back."

Samus merely nodded, and then the fight began. The princess dashed towards Samus, who fired a missile straight towards her. With perfect grace and timing, Peach managed to roll out of the way of the missile, allowing it to explode in midair. Samus avoided being grabbed by Peach by jumping and kicking her, this time striking the princess successively. Quickly Peach recovered and plucked a vegetable from the earth. The bounty hunter prepared a Charge Shot that was disrupted by a vegetable thrown by her opponent.

So far, neither had accumulated much damage. Although it may have appeared otherwise, both were trying the hardest. It just so happened both were skilled and dodging. In spite of that, both ladies had grown tired of the pattern.

Luckily, this changed when Peach dove at Samus and struck her with her surprisingly strong hands. Samus flew off of the stage but was in close enough proximity to use her laser to latch onto the stage. Peach, showing no mercy, knocked Samus off of the stage once again just as she'd recovered. Soon both of their feet had separated from the ground as Peach hovered toward Samus and hit her. A series of bombs followed by a Screw Attack moved Samus back towards the stage while the princess met ground again with the help of her parasol. A swing of her leg was all it took to send Samus flying downwards, knocking her out.

Seconds later Samus reappeared on the stage. Mentally she applauded Peach; she certainly had developed some skills. Kneeling, the bounty hunter planted a hand on the ground and fired just as Peach ran into her. The princess flew into the air, allowing Samus to try and use her Charge Shot again. On the way down Peach tried to dodge her opponent's attack in the air. Unfortunately her timing was off, and thus she was hit with the Charge Shot. Now the score was even.

The brawl continued for so long both of the Smashers had lost all sense of time. Samus had alternated between her Power Suit and her Zero Suit so many times she could barely tell the difference between the two any more. Neither was totally sure who was winning, nor did either of them care. Blonde hair damp with sweat clung to their foreheads as they panted, trying to keep going. Peach partly wanted the match to end because she felt exhaustion catching up to her, but another part of her relished this fact as well.

Finally, the countdown to the end of the match was heard.

_5..._

Peach grabbed Samus one last time. To her surprise, she was actually smiling as if she were having fun.

_4..._

Smiling back, Peach threw Samus to the opposite end of the stage.

_3..._

A missile shot at Peach, who managed to put up her shield in time. Despite not being damaged, she still slid a considerable distance.

_2..._

Both ran towards each other in a way that could be portrayed as something out of a cheesy romance movie. That is, if it were slowed down and sappy music were added.

_1...Time!_

"This game's winner is Samus!"

Peach applauded, still smiling.

Samus removed her helmet and approached Peach. She held her helmet in one hand while extending the other. "Great game," Samus said.

Peach locked her hand with the bounty hunter's. "Yes, yes it was."

"You did very well," Samus offered, secretly feeling a little bad Peach didn't win. But she also knew Peach care more about having a truly fair match than winning, so her guilt vanished. "Your stamina is pretty impressive, and your defensive skills are too."

"Thank you." Samus then founded herself encircled by a pair of arms. The princess's head pressed on her shoulder. Peach radiated an indescribable warmth that Samus had never really noticed before. Even though her face was covered with a film of sweat, she carried a sweet, flowery scent. Even though Samus didn't care for hugging much, she found herself wrapping her arms around the waist of the princess. For some reason, it felt as if the temperature in Samus' face had risen. She attributed it to the sweat she'd worked up from the battle.

Peach let go and looked at Samus in the eyes. "Really. Thank you. I needed that." She beamed. Losing had never felt so good. At least with this loss she had genuinely tried and had lost fairly. The feeling of putting her all into a battle and having the opponent do the same filled her with so much more satisfaction than any of her easily earned victories.

In an act of impulse, Peach stood on the tips of her toes and pecked Samus on the cheek. "Consider that your victory present." With a giggle, she walked away.

Samus' fingertips grazed her cheek, her eyes wide in astonishment. She stood there, thinking. She couldn't recall a time she'd been so shocked – and happy – after winning a match.


End file.
